Creators of “participatory defense” – a community organizing model for people facing charges, their families, and communities to impact the outcome of cases and transform the landscape of power in the court system

Through the Washington Defender Association and the Incarcerated Parents Project, we had the honor to spend a week in Washington state to work with four very different families who had one thing in common — they were each fighting a court system that was trying to keep their families separated, and the most powerful weapon they had to win reunification was the power of their own story. Through their courage they were challenging the criminal court system (Daniel), immigration court system (Gladys), Dependency Court (Brian), and trying to secure a federal prison transfer (Derina and Gina). We spent time with Daniel at the Chehalis Detention Facility, as he tries to win clemency from his sentence which will have him spend the rest of his term in adult prison and away from his young daughter. We sat in the family home of Gladys who is in a immigration detention center facing deportation and being a nation away from her children. We worked with Brian to tell his remarkable story of how he has turned his life around so he can reunite with his two boys that the dependency system is trying to take from him permanently. And we got the opportunity to sit with Darina, a wonderful 7-year-old who is doing everything in her power to get the federal prison system transfer her father from Texas to Oregon, so she could build a stronger relationship with him.

It was a remarkable week. Check out this highlight reel to meet some of the amazing families!

To all the families who are in what seems to be the impossible fight…, NEVER GIVE UP!!! My name is Rustin Bangham, and thanks to De-Bug, The Sixth District Appellate Program, and my wonderful attorney Jessica Burt-Smith, with the Santa Clara Public Defender’s Office, my 3-LIFE SENTENCES, plus 34 years was overturned and I was released from prison to start my new life. It was an uphill battle, but nothing worth having is easy. Please be strong and keep up the fight! You can see my story and my response in the August and September 2015 articles. Thank you Raj!!!